A pair of investment firms believe casing supplier Catcher has secured a sizable chunk of Apple's anticipated "iPhone 6" metal casing orders, as the company lines up suppliers for a handset launch later this year.

Both Barclays and Morgan Stanley this week said they are bullish on Taiwan's Catcher Technology Co. heading into late 2014 and early 2015. Both reports, discovered byG for Games, peg Catcher's share of "iPhone 6" casings at over 10 million units this year.

Catcher is a high-profile casing supplier for a number of tech companies, but Apple alone is said to account for about 40 percent of its total revenue, according to Barclays. Most notably, Catcher supplies the unibody shell for Apple's MacBook Pro lineup.

Catcher is believed to have entered Apple's iPhone supply chain late last year with the iPhone 5s. In all, Morgan Stanley expects Catcher to supply casings for 20 million iPhone units this year, including the iPhone 5s.

Analysts suspect that Apple's ramp-up of next-generation iPhone units will start to bolster Catcher's bottom line in the third quarter of this year. Morgan Stanley predicts that Apple will account for 38 percent of Catcher's fourth-quarter sales this year.

Apple is rumored to launch two new iPhone models this year, said to be sized at 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, both an increase from the current 4-inch screen size of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities believes the new iPhones' bezels will be 10 to 20 percent more narrow than the current iPhone 5s, with an overall device thickness pegged at 6.5 to 7.0 millimeters.

Expectations are that Apple will introduce a complete redesign of the iPhone hardware this year, as it tends to do every two years. According to Kuo, Apple may move the lock button on its handset from the top of the device to the upper right side, allowing for users to more easily press it when operating the device with one hand.

Based on those rumored changes, Martin Hajek put together mockups imagining what Apple's next-generation iPhone models might look like. The images, published byNoWhereElse, show a curved bezel, thinner design, and relocated lock button. Accompanying them is also a so-called "iPhone 6c," as envisioned by Hajek.

I don't know how Apple will manage to keep single handed operations on a screen that big. They will have to redesign not just the UI at the OS level but app developers would have to rethink that aspect as well.

A larger screen? Am I really the only one who thinks that 3.5" iPhone is perfect for human hands?

Yes luckily you are few thinking about the grip of 3.5" human hands but for me human eyes feel better looking at the 5"5, for me at least sorry but Apple now is driving toward what we like and we are much more

A larger screen? Am I really the only one who thinks that 3.5" iPhone is perfect for human hands?

No, I think you're right on the money with that one, at least with my hands. My hope is they can do this and somehow keep the same for factor by removing the bezel and possibly using it just for full screen apps, etc.

I think the mock-up's shown are ugly. The rounded bezel looks band, the home button is squeezed in too tight and I think it looks too thin and hard to hold. I would take a thicker phone with added battery life over something so thin. Why does the thickness at this level
matter so much. The 5c is thin enough.

No, I think you're right on the money with that one, at least with my hands. My hope is they can do this and somehow keep the same for factor by removing the bezel and possibly using it just for full screen apps, etc.

Apple is known to prioritize style, ergonomics and features. Perhaps the answer after all is to move to a larger screen, but as you mentioned, also change the UI to keep it just as operable. The current UI would be (in my mind) a nightmare to use on a larger screen. Who knows, may be Apple are working (I really hope so) on a new UI that solves the problem of single-handed operations on a larger screen.

Can rumor sites PLEASE quit posting these Martin Hajek mockups already. They're not based in reality and the latest ones just look like an HTC One with an iOS screen plastered on the front.

Hey, I’m fine with mockups of all sorts, as long as they’re clearly and plainly labeled as such.

What we really need is a repository of information. Predictions from analysts (and the number of times they were wrong), mockups for products (and the final thing to compare with rumors), etc. Huddler provides the platform to do it (and really, if I was still… wait…), so why not?

A larger screen? Am I really the only one who thinks that 3.5" iPhone is perfect for human hands?

No, there are many. But I suspect that by far the majority of people are open to the idea of a larger screened device. I am also certain you will be able to keep using (and buying) your ideally sized phone for a long time to come.

Wasn't there a rumour of not just a moved Sleep Button but an additional button? I hope that is true and it's a dedicated Siri Button. I want a concierge button that will instantly call upon Siri as I'm pressing it down, not a Home Button that requires me to press it all the way down and then keep it pressed down for a certain time before it calls Siri.

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A larger screen? Am I really the only one who thinks that 3.5" iPhone is perfect for human hands?

Not a single person I know would want a 3.5" screen for their next phone. I'm sure there's a few (very few) but Apple doesn't make products for just you, or the minority. I think it's pretty clear now tat the mainstream does not mind larger phones, and the fact that Apple does not have one has been the #1 reason they've been attacked, mocked, derided, and is basically all that their competition is using for ammunition. A reasonable person would accept that they SHOULD have such a device- not doing so is shooting themselves in the foot at this point, even if it was based on principles and ideology. Luckily for you, I'm sure they will still make 4" phones.

A larger screen? Am I really the only one who thinks that 3.5" iPhone is perfect for human hands?

There is no connection between the size of a display and what is ideal for even the average human hand. First there is an issue with the diagonal size which makes no mention of the aspect ratio. For instance, a 3.5" 1:1 display would be less effective than a 4" display. Then you have the rest of the rest of the device to consider. For example, the iPhone 3GS with its 3.5" display is heavier, thicker and takes up more volume in total than the iPhone 5 with its 4" display. We can assume the display will be only on one plane of the device (which may not be for too much longer) we can then estimate the maximum reasonable size for a display for a given aspect ratio if we either remove or estimate bezel with. Now I don't think Apple can do "magic" like it did with the iPhone 5 again but with a thinner chassis, rounded edges, and smaller bezel it could make a 4.5" 16:9 display be about as functional with the thumb side-to-side as all previous iPhones before it, or at least make it a value added that an downside is minimal, like with the iPad 3 getting heavier and thicker but with the benefit of the Retina display on the iPad.

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There is no connection between the size of a display and what is ideal for even the average human hand. First there is an issue with the diagonal size which makes no mention of the aspect ratio. For instance, a 3.5" 1:1 display would be less effective than a 4" display. Then you have the rest of the rest of the device to consider. For example, the iPhone 3GS with its 3.5" display is heavier, thicker and takes up more volume in total than the iPhone 5 with its 4" display. We can assume the display will be only on one plane of the device (which may not be for too much longer) we can then estimate the maximum reasonable size for a display for a given aspect ratio if we either remove or estimate bezel with. Now I don't think Apple can do "magic" like it did with the iPhone 5 again but with a thinner chassis, rounded edges, and smaller bezel it could make a 4.5" 16:9 display be about as functional with the thumb side-to-side as all previous iPhones before it, or at least make it a value added that an downside is minimal, like with the iPad 3 getting heavier and thicker but with the benefit of the Retina display on the iPad.

I fumble with my iPhone 5 sometimes because of it's awkward long, thin design. I never had that problem with the 3.5 inch iPhone 4. I guess I'm in the minority that would like the most-powerful iPhone in a 3.5 inch design. Text/photos aren't that much bigger on bigger phones, until you go phablet size.

I fumble with my iPhone 5 sometimes because of it's awkward long, thin design. I never had that problem with the 3.5 inch iPhone 4. I guess I'm in the minority that would like the most-powerful iPhone in a 3.5 inch design. Text/photos aren't that much bigger on bigger phones, until you go phablet size.

Are you sure the height of the device is the reason? It's only 0.37" (less than a centimeter) longer which when you divide by 2 for the top and bottom put it at only .17" (or less than 5 millimeters) longer on average hanging off your hand. And considering it's much, much lighter I'm not sure that there is any weight that can be attributed to wanting to take a tumble out of your hands. Did you consider the thickness, weight, or casing materials as potential reasons (in part or in full) as potential reasons for this fumbliness.

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I think the mock-up's shown are ugly. The rounded bezel looks band, the home button is squeezed in too tight and I think it looks too thin and hard to hold. I would take a thicker phone with added battery life over something so thin. Why does the thickness at this level
matter so much. The 5c is thin enough

I don't know how Apple will manage to keep single handed operations on a screen that big. They will have to redesign not just the UI at the OS level but app developers would have to rethink that aspect as well.

People keep saying this, but what "one handed" operation would you lose with a bigger screen?

Notification screen, notifications, scrolling, deleting emails, etc etc can all be done from the right side of the screen- you don't have to be in the middle. So what are you trying to do on your phone where you won't be able to reach the top left corner or top middle of your phone with your right thumb?

Seems like pointless "don't change" talk, but no meat to back up the claim of losing any ability.

Who doesn't text or type with two thumbs currently? Do you hunt and peck on a keyboard too?

I don't know how Apple will manage to keep single handed operations on a screen that big. They will have to redesign not just the UI at the OS level but app developers would have to rethink that aspect as well.

I am extremely curious to see a breakdown of the percentage of time a typical iPhone user uses it with 1 hand vs. 2 hands. Whenever I see people using their phones whether it is an iPhone, Galaxy, or anything else more than just a few seconds they nearly always rest the phone in one hand and use the far more precise index fingers of the other hand to operate the display. Most of the apps I use either look better in landscape mode or in many cases ONLY work in landscape which requires 2 handed use on an iPhone. Who are these mythical 1 handed users and why should Apple care about them anymore since usage patterns have changed now that phones are more computer than phone now.

That was exactly what I was thinking. The home button is spaced fine on the 5&5s any farther it won't look right. As for the separated bezel from the back, ugly, the bezel is ugly too. They should make the iPhone look better, not worse. I do like the blue metal mockup though. That's what I thought they should have done the first time around. And I love the chamfered edges of the 5s, except they get scratched all the time and get dull and hard to clean.

I really wish Apple would start using that LiquidMetal tech that they invested in years ago. It would really up the ante, more so than that stupid SIM ejector. Seriously, a LiquidMetal SIM ejector.!? That's it so far?

I for one hope the power/sleep button moves from the top to the right side. I actually preferred the headphone port on the top like my old 4S also. Having the headphone port on bottom makes it more awkward for many use scenarios especially in my car with auxiliary. I wish that would go back to the top then move the power button to the right which currently is unused space. While they are at it the volume buttons are pretty hard to access in a case. I wouldn't mind slightly larger buttons that are easier to raise or lower volume.